Burglar-curtain for display-windows.



v I09. SAFES, BANK PROTECTION AND RELATED DEVICES.

M. RICHTER.

BURGLAR CURTAIN FOR DISPLAY WINDOWS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30,1914. 7

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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M. RICHTER.

BURGLAR CURTAIN FOR DISPLAY WINDOWS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.301 1914.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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i109. SAFES, BANK PROTECTION AND RELATED DEVICES.

MAX RICHTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BURGLAR-CURTAIN FOR DISPLAY-WINDOWS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

forms of flexible curtain may be wound upon the shaft 11. At the left hand end of the shaft 11 (Fig. 2) is a sprocket wheel portion is provided with inclined edges 27 which terminate in parallel edges 28 engaged by the bifurcated ends of the detent 1,172,311. Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Application filed March 30, 1914. Serial No. 828,214.

To all whom it may concern: over which passes a chain 13, this chain 55 Be it known that I, MAX RICHTER, a citileading to another sprocket wheel not shown,

zen of the Empire of Germany, residing at the last mentioned sprocket wheel being Chicago, in the county of Cook and State operated in any suitable manner to wind the 5 of Illinois, United States of America, have curtain 12 upon the shaft 11.

invented certain new and useful Improve- Rigidly secured upon the shaft 11 near 60 ments in Burglar-Curtains for Display-Wineach end thereof, are the wheels 14, each of dows, of which the following is a full, clear, which has ratchet teeth on the face thereof,

concise, and exact description, reference adjacent to the curtain 12. The teeth of the being had to the accompanying drawings, Wheels 14 are designed to be engaged by forming a part of this specification. suitable detent bars to be hereinafter men- 65 My invention relates to burglar curtains tioned. for display windows, and the object of my Secured to the brackets 10 and extending invention is to provide a curtain and conacross the window frame is a bar 15, this 15 trolling means therefor, so arranged and bar 15 serving to support the detent bars or disposed that the curtain will be permitted rods, to be hereinafter mentioned, and also 70 to move to closed position when the pane of providing a bearing for the latch which the window with which the curtain is assocontrols the position of the detent bars or ciated is broken. rods.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat- Extending freely through openings in the ing my invention Figure 1 is an elevational brackets 10 and provided with bearings 16 75 view of a window provided with the devices carried by the brackets 10 are the detent of my invention. Fig. 2 is a View illustratrods or bars 17, each one of which is proing the burglar curtain and the controlling vided with a beveled end 18 arranged to endevices therefor. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary gage the teeth of one of the ratchet wheels detail view of the controlling devices for 14:. The inner end of each of the detent 0 the curtain. Fig. A is a view partly in secbars or rods 17 is supported in a bearing tion and partly in elevation taken on the plate 19, supported by the bar 15. line 44= of Fig. 2, and looking in the di- As is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 3

rection indicated by the arrows. Fig. 5 is a and 5 each of the detent bars or rods 17 has sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. rigidly secured thereto by means of a bolt 3 looking in the direction indicated by the 20 a U-shaped member 21, the arms of which arrows, and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail embrace the bar 15 as is most clearly illusview illustrating how the bar to which the trated in Fig. 5. Interposed between each 35 lower ends of the strands or wires, to be hereof the members 21 and the adjacent bearing inafter mentioned, are attached, is secured 16 is a helical compression spring 22. It 90 to the window frame. will be seen that each of the compression Similar reference numerals refer to simisprings 22 tends to move its associated delar parts throughout the several views. tent bar or rod 17 toward the other detent Secured to the upper part of the window bar or rod.

frame and preferably concealed from a per- The lnner end of each of the locking bars 5 son on the outside of the window, is a pair or rods is bifurcated to embrace a latch 23 of downwardly extending brackets 10 one extending upwardly through a bearing 24. disposed at each side of the window frame. on the bar 15 and provided near its upper Rotatably mountedin the brackets 10 is a end w1th a shoulder 25. Interposed between shaft 11 having a curtain 12 wound thereon. the shoulder 25 and the bar 15 is a compara- 1 0 The curtain 12 is preferably constructed by tlvely light compression spring 26, as is securing a plurality of metal bars in or to most clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. As is a suitable fabric, but I do not limit myself illustrated in the drawmgs the lower end of to any particular form of curtain. It will the latch 23 is considerably wider than the suflice to say that any one of the well-known other portlons of the latch and the said lower 5 bars or rods 17 when the latch 23 is in set position. The upper end of the latch 23 is connected by means of a link 29 with a lever 30 mounted on a pivot 31 carried by the upper portion of the window frame. Attached to the long arm of the lever 30 is a cord or other suitable device whereby the lever 30 may be tied or locked in the position shown in Fig. & to prevent operation of the controlling devices to permit the curtain 12 to fall. It is desirable to insure that the curtain will not fall when the window with which the curtain is associated is being cleaned.

Formed in the lower end of the latch 23 is an elongated slot 32 in which is secured by means of a bolt 33 a small plate 34. having a plurality of openings 35 formed in its lower end. Secured in the openings 35 in the plate 34 and radiating from the plate 34 across the window pane with which the cur tain 12 is associated and fitting closely against the inner surface of the pane is a plurality of fine wires or strands 36, the lower end of each of said wires or strands being attached to a bar 36 extending across the bottom of the window frame as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The bar 36 is secured in position by means of a very simple arrangement. At each end of the bar 36 is disposed a plate 37 having its lower end bifurcated to receive the plate 36. The plates 37 are secured to the window frame as illustrated.

Then the several parts are in the positions illustrated in the drawings, the bifurcated ends of the locking bars 7 engage the parallel edges 28 of the latch 23; therefore, the beveled ends 18 of the locking bars or rods are held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheels 14 and the curtain 12 is maintained in raised position. Should any one throw an object through the window pane, if the resulting opening in the pane is to be sufliciently large to permit the merchandise inside the window to be reached, the object which is thrown through the pane will engage one of the fine wires or strands 36, thereby drawing the latch 23 slightly downward so that the bifurcated ends of the detent bars 17 engage the surfaces 27 of the latch. hen this occurs a cam action results and the springs 22 thrust the bars 17 inwardly, thus drawing the beveled ends 18 of the detent bars out of engagement with the ratchet wheels 14. As soon as this occurs the curtain 12 falls, due to gravity. The parts are so arranged that the curtain is released almost instantly after the latch 23 has been drawn downward.

WVhen the curtain is to be placed in set condition, the same is wound up on the shaft 11 and the lever 30 is operated to draw the latch 23 to the position shown in Fig. 3, thus forcing the ends 18 of the detent bars or rods 17 into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheels 14. In practice it is very desirable to have the wires or strands 36 stretched quite tight when the devices are in set condition.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A burglar curtain for a display window comprising a shaft upon which the urtain is wound, a ratchet wheel mounted upon either end of said shaft, a pair of rods, each arranged to engage one of said ratchet wheels, spring means associated with each rod normally tending to move it from en gagement with its associated ratchet wheel, a latch common to both of said rods provided with riding faces disposed on opposite sides of the latch normally tending to prevent the rods from moving under the action of their associated springs and a plir rality of strands connected with said latch and stretched across a window pane arranged vhen engagedby an object thrown through the'window pane to actuate the latch to permit the rods to move under the action of their associated springs.

2. A burglar curtain for a display window provided with a shaft upon which the curtain is wound, a ratchet wheel at each end of said shaft, a detent rod arranged toengage each of said ratchet wheels, means associated with said detent rods normally tending to move them from engagement with their associated ratchet wheels, a cam latch common to both of said rods arranged when in one position to permitthe rods to move to release said ratchet wheels, means for manually operating said cam latch to force the rods into engagement with their associated ratchet wheels and a plurality of strands connected with said cam latch and stretched across the window pane arranged when engaged by an article thrown through the pane to operate the latch to permit said rods to move from engagement with their associated ratchet wheels.

3. In combination a curtain arranged when released to fall by gravity, a detent arranged to retain said curtain in raised position, spring means tending to move the detent to non-locking position, a latch normally engaged and retaining the detent in locking position, spring means normally holding the latch in position to retain the detent in looking position, a cam surface formed on said latch and means arranged when operated to move the latch to bring the cam surface thereof into engagement with the detent, whereupon the spring means associated with the detent may move the latch out of the path of the detent and move the latter to non-locking position.

a. In combination, a curtain arranged when released to fall by gravity, a detent 109. SAFES, BANK PROTECTION nra nsmaiu AND RELATED DEVICES.

g ting arrangedto retain said curtain in raised pomeans associated with the detent may move 10 sition, spring means tending to move the detent to non-locking position, a latch normally engaged by the detent serving to retain the detent in looking position, a cam surface formed on said latch, and means arranged when operated to move the latch to bring the cam surface thereof into engagement with the detent whereupon the spring the latch out of the path of the detent and move the latter to non-locking position.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of March, A. D. 1914:.

1 MAX RICHTER. Witnesses:

A. G. MCOALEB, ALBIN C. OHLBERG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

